Itch is really the place that still says this but the demo is really just to test out the rogues mini game. This is a game that will be released in chapters and there isn’t that much beyond the mini game at the moment. Think of it as a proof of concept of that feature with other aspects that can be found and played around with. But it really is not meant to be a representation of how the finished chapter one will be in current implementation.
The next demo released is planned to be a full chapter one release from my understanding. That will be the place to play through and progress the game when it does come out.
The next demo, isn’t going to be the full chapter though. It will be the chapter’s main quest, and two side quests though (One is practically finished already, and the other is very short and joined at the hip with the main quest). It also has the basis of the magic system and is generally much more polished. The battle system will be mostly incomplete as well.
The one after that will be the full chapter release, or at least a build for bug searching/fixing.
Do you have an idea of how many side quests you want to be within chapter one? I’m unsure of what your plans are for the quests, gear upgrades, consumable items, character development, I would assume are some of the benefits to completing said quests. Other than the mentioned endings being affected by it to some extent.
About 6-8 sidequests in chapter 1. Not all of them are going to be super long, and the rewards for them vary. Some will simply be gold, some that open other services in chapter 1, and even some that will provide benefits that can last the whole game. The succubus quest for example can be just gold, access to the succubus services for gold, or access to the succubus services at the cost of her causing trouble for you (as well as her being a servant character if you get a blob character). A lot of chapter 1’s side quests will either add or subtract to a variable that will determine the town’s overall fate during the end of the game (basically if you mess up every quest, take a long time/fail the main quest, or make decisions that screw over the town, you can get a bad ending and vice versa)
Gear upgrades (basic weapons and armor) will mostly be very predictable. Most if not all weapons and armor will have to be bought from weapon and armor shops. Sometimes you may find a weapon or armor piece in the adventure field, but it usually will just be something from the shop that you can find for free. Accessory items on the other hand I am trying to make more unique. The Gula bracelet, for example, is a quest reward for chapter 1 if you choose specific outcomes to chapter 1’s MQ (It increases the amount of HP healed from food items and gives that character some XP, but makes them gain more weight than normal from that item). You can also enchant daggers for either the mage or rouge to use (changes their normal attack element and will eventually give them a magic spell of the corresponding element). Consumable items will be almost entirely food, as that makes weight management throughout the game be a potential concern (though it’s unlikely to be a real problem in normal mode, so long as you don’t choose to be a glutton during events and set pieces all the time). Healing potions will be in the game, but they will be very rare and very expensive (to compensate, they are the only items that will always restore your HP or MP to 100%).
Character development will be a little static from the narrative itself due to how much input the player will have in terms of how things can play out. As people, they will mostly stay the same throughout the game if you avoid fetish content, stay at a low weight, don’t do anything drastic, and have the rogue comit a crime. However, your actions can do things like; get one of the character’s cursed, make a character a heretic, give the mage a fetish for weight gain, turn the rogue’s life around by not breaking the law etc. The only development the narrative itself will do is make them interact with each other in a more personal manner than how they do at the start (they are all basically complete strangers to each other at the start. The mage and the rogue know of the warrior, but never met her before the game starts. that is the extent of their relationship in the beginning). Fallout New Vegas is the main inspiration in terms of player choice, but obviously I’m not making a game on that scale. The game (a single playthrough) is meant to be a bit on the shorter side, since I want it to be something that people replay over and over to see what happens.
I made a game jam entry. Normally I wouldn’t advertise it on my other threads, but this one is of particular interest if you are watching this game’s development. I don’t want to spoil it, but you’ll see what I mean if you try it.
that will be when chapter 1 is released, some of the codes will affect the intro in a very tiny way (those specific codes that also impact the intro will also affect chapter 4 significantly, 7 a bit, and the ending fairly significantly for the characters involved).
So since I’m getting back into the swing of developing this and Draconic expansion, I have come to conclusion that I may have bit off a bit more than I could chew alone with this project. This is not to say that I am canceling it, or even reducing the scope, but rather I think I may want to take on any volunteers that would be willing to help.
The main story of the chapter is almost finished, just a bit further to go. The aspect of the game that seems to burn me out the fastest is writing the exact dialogue for each of the characters for every scene. Making the maps is also problematic at times. So, what I’ll do is release the story demo when that’s done, and then I will probably make a private discord server for the volunteers should anybody want to help. Reason I want the story demo done first, is because of the fact there is a lot more dialogue to give an idea of how the character’s act and a little lore background.
I’ll resume Draconic Expansion’s additional content on my own since the scope of that game is much more manageable for a single person to handle.
I had a bit of an oversight with the lack of one of the codes for Draconic Expansion. When it comes to importing your outcome into Heroes on a Budget, there is a code I didn’t think was necessary but actually is.
The code for if Serrin (red dragon) was in charge at the end of that game was never made. The code will be: 44444144 for those that don’t want to replay Draconic Expansion over again for it.
I forgot to make this code since her being in charge is the default scenario if you don’t put any of the codes in, but if you were to put in her weight level 7 code, it would create a scenario that is impossible to achieve (her being a blob as well as in charge).
I have since put this code into Draconic Expansion, and it will be present when I put out the next update for it.
I am thinking of doing a very short intro sequence after the plot is set up where you pick which character to start as before they are all made to meet up together. Think something like Dragon Age Origin’s backstory system, only it’s going to be really short and provide minor bonuses to whatever character was chosen that the others won’t get. I want to do something that helps with replay value.
So the warrior is at her family’s estate for a few days until an envoy arrives with summons, the mage is in the capital and just needs to walk a short distance after getting summoned, and the rogue would just be allowed to roam around a portion of the castle since she’s already locked up the prison there after getting caught stealing.
these bonuses won’t be anything game changing, nor will there be any massive story based choices for you to make. It’s also going to be pretty short, so it doesn’t drag down replays of the game.
sorry for the lack of updates, I needed to finish a drawing first.
Ophelia sprites are nearly done. Just got two more sets left to do. I also have received some help with writing the first weight gain level cutscene and much of Sarah’s intro area is mapped out.
Working on some CG for a semi hidden scene for Sarah in chapter 1, about halfway done. Intro cutscene nearly complete, about halfway done with Sarah’s version prologue (will probably be the only prologue available for the chapter 1 story demo).
I also have been receiving writing help from Erronwolf. He has done the first couple weight level cutscenes, and the first armorsmith weigh-in scene for Claire.
Feasting activity in prologue for Sarah is nearly finished, just need to change the movement route of an npc in the background.
Ophelia spriteing getting closer to being done. Now I just need to do the back and walking sprites for size 8. Size 9 still needs to be started (10 is the blob, that’s already done).
I play on mobile using joiplay, i have already tried some rpg-maker games in the mobile version and i prefer the pc version since it’s easier to play the only thing that can add some problems is that if you have a quest you can’t see it’s requirements in the quest page. so if there are some quest could you add a way to pinpoint the quest to see it’s requirements.
(Sorry if i made some grammatical errors english is not my motherleanguage)